Friends, Family, and Faith
by broadwaybear
Summary: The Mercers are taking on a foster child. Will the former Power Rangers be able to help this troubled child on her search for Friends, Family, and Faith. Slight KT&TH.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own this! To bad, though, I'd be rich if I did.

AN) Power Rangers is becoming a guilty pleasure of mine, I can't belive it! Oh, well, enjoy! 

**Prologue**

"…Yes, but I… No, I understand, I do, but… That was different, I don't support…" Anton Mercer let out an aggravated sigh, "Let me discuss it with my son first. I'll get back to you." he all but slammed down the phone, these people would simply not leave him alone! He _did not _like being out talked and interrupted like that!

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Trent said, coming out of no where.

Anton jumped, "How long have you been standing there? Do you _want _me to have a heart attack?" he asked joking, though he was slightly perturbed at how easily Trent managed to scare him. After the incident with Mesagog had been taken care of, Anton and Trent had taken great steps toward understanding each other. Anton had been forgiven by anyone who knew of the situation, as well, because they all understood that what happened had not been his fault. There were still arguments amongst the extended family, but nothing serious, it was mostly just Conne, and even he seemed to be getting over it. All was actually going fairly well, but Anton was worried that this new issue could throw off the balance that they had all fought so hard to achieve.

"It's nothing, son." Anton replied, trying to sound like that's all it really was. _Trying_, being the operative word.

"Oh, come on, what's bugging you?" Trent persisted.

"Look, I didn't feel the need to mention it before, but since you caught me I don't suppose I have a choice. For about a month now, I have been contacted by the state foster service, they would like me, _us,_" he stressed the word, "to take on a foster child. They think that they have a young girl that would do well in Reefside."

Trent looked shocked, "And you turned them down?" he cried incredulously.

"Well, I didn't really think it was a good idea right now." 

"Think about it, your whole job is about helping people. You took me in to help me, to give me a home. Why can't you take on one more, and only for a little while!" 

Anton was surprised, "So, you really want to do this? You're absolutely sure?" Trent nodded vigoruosly, "Alright," he replied nervously, "I'll call them back in a bit, and see what I can do to help." Trent smiled.

"Why are you so worried, it'll only be for a couple of months, right?" 

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AN) So what do you think? Is it a good idea, or is it to early to tell? Remember, this is only the prologue! The _Chapters_ will be longer! Please Review, and I'll get the first chapter up as soon as possible.


	2. The Foster Girl

**The Foster Girl**

"So, you guys are taking on a foster kid." Tommy Oliver could not completely hide the surprise in his voice, but Trent either didn't notice, or ignored it. The whole group was seated at a table in the Cyber Café; Trent was telling the team his and his father's plans.

"Yeah!" he said excitedly and took a manila folder out of his bag, "They have a 12 year-old that they want us to take care of, at least for a little while. She's been through tons of homes already, and she moves around every couple of months, which is much faster than usual, apparently she's never really done well in any of the homes they've put her in." he opened the folder, which revealed several slips of paper, the one on the front was a sheet giving information on the child. The name across the top said Faith Rowena Rideout, but where there should have been a photo of her, it said picture not available. 

"Dude, why isn't there a picture of her?" Conner asked.

"They don't have many pictures of her on public record." Trent replied, suddenly his voice became grave, "She was the only witness to her parents murder. She didn't talk for two years afterwards, so they never caught whoever did it, and she could still be in danger." 

"She didn't talk for _two years_!" Kira exclaimed.

"Yeah, and we're told she's still quiet, not open, like, at all. That's actually why she's had such a hard time with finding a home. No one wants the quiet kid who doesn't make any friends, and occasionally gets into trouble." Trent replied this seemed to frustrate him for some reason.

"What kind of trouble?" Hailey asked from behind the bar.

"She's gotten into a few fights at her old schools, but she's a good student, and we did some research and found out that she was never actually the one to start the fights." Trent answered.

"So, when's she supposed to get here?" Ethan inquired.

"Tomorrow, her plane's supposed to arrive tomorrow around four. I'll be working, but dad actually canceled a few appointments to pick her up himself!" Trent said his voice showed his happiness at his father's obvious try to be nice to this kid.

"You could take off tomorrow if you wanted to go with and pick her up." Hailey offered, though more than slightly grudgingly.

Trent smiled, "I appreciate the offer, but Saturdays are too busy for me to leave you here on your own. Besides, I'll be getting home around the same time as them anyway." 

Hailey breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks, Trent, you're my best employee." 

"I know, but you owe me one."

"Darn." Everyone laughed.

"Why are they getting her here so fast?" Dr. O asked, "Don't they usually wait longer?"

"Yeah, but apparently her current foster parents are in a hurry to get rid of her." Trent said sighing.

"Wow." Kira put in, "She sounds like a hand full. Are you guys sure you want to take her in? I mean she is your first foster kid."

"I know," Trent replied thoughtfully, "but from what I gather, she isn't _bad_ just… troubled, I want to help her."

"Dude, you want to help _everybody._" Conner teased

"That may be, but for some reason, I really think I can help this kid. They gave us a choice of five kids to choose from, but she seemed to call to me, like, this is going to sound crazy, but it was like I just knew there's something good about her, _really_ good, and I think I can help her, I can understand her better than anyone else." Trent replied seeming sort of out of it as he looked at the brief summary of the girl, like he could see something no one else there could. 

"Well, we're not the ones to judge her." Dr O put in brushing the issue aside, "When will we get to meet her?"

"Kira's next gig is in two days, right?" Trent reaffirmed.

"Yeah, I play at noon, why?" Kira replied.

"Well, how about I bring her with me to work then?" This idea seemed to please all of them; they would all be here anyway. "Alright, since that's settled, I've got to get back to work."

"You had better." Hailey's disembodied reply came from the back.

--The Next Evening--

Anton Mercer was getting worried. He did not like getting worried, and it took quite a bit to do it, but he was. Mr. Douglas, Faith's social worker, had said that he would not be with Faith when she arrived, but that she would know what to do regardless, but Faith was no where to be found. Her plane had landed almost a half an hour 

ago and everyone had gotten off already. Anton had seen no one of her description, dirty blonde hair, green eyes, and 4'10'' and would probably be listening to an iPod. No one got off the plane that even remotely matched that description.

Anton Mercer was worried.

The girl was twelve years-old, the Johnsonville Airport was _huge_, it was also crammed with several hundred people at the moment, and one child could get lost. Fast. 

He felt someone tap his shoulder and turned around to see a girl of the exact description he had been given, iPod and all.

"Are you Anton Mercer?" she asked, not rudely but she clearly didn't care if he was or not. 

"Yes, and are you Faith Rideout?" she nodded, "You had me a little worried, I didn't see you get off the plane."

"Sorry 'bout that. I went to get my bags." Again she really didn't care; she was just telling him this out of politeness. Anton now noticed something; her voice had a strange lilt to it, a tiny bit of an accent, it wasn't British, maybe Scottish? 

"Did everything get here okay?" he asked, seeing that all she had was a black suitcase in one hand, an Adidas duffel bag was slung over each shoulder, and she had a purple backpack in her other hand; was that all she had? She simply nodded. "Do you need any help?" he inquired, seeing how easily the two duffel bags could become uncomfortable. She shook her head no. "You sure? Alright, let's go then." he almost let out a sigh, when he had been told she was quiet it had been a complete understatement. How could a _twelve-year-old_ be that silent! More importantly; what had happened to make her that way? 

As they walked in step he got a better look at the girl. She was wearing old, beat up boots, a pair of jeans that was actually in decent condition; looking slightly new, and her shirt was a black with white words stating: NO DAY BUT TODAY, in bold letters. Her light blonde hair was, he hated to think it, but, it was ridiculously long! It reached almost to her knees, and was pulled back in a tight braid, which is why he didn't notice it immediately. Her skin was pale, but that was to be expected; hadn't Mr. Douglas told him that her last few foster homes were father up north? She was deficiently short, barely reached his chest, but he was fairly tall, so maybe 4'10'' was average; he couldn't be sure. 

She was in shape that was for sure, Anton remembered being told something about softball and cross 

country, what were her other hobbies? Anton hadn't been told much, but did remember that she was a… oh, what was it…? A pianist! Yes, that sounded right! It fit; she had the same long fingers as his mother, an extremely gifted piano teacher, used to have. 

The one thing he hadn't expected was the feeling that he got from her. Now, he would never go so far as to say he was a people person; in fact he was usually completely unobservant when it came to other peoples feelings; that was Trent's department. Unfortunately even he could tell there was something wrong with her; she was mentally sound, but there was something else, a coldness that seemed to radiate from her. It wasn't hostile, or unhappy, or anything and that was the problem, it was like she didn't feel at all. She was like a hollow shell; it walked and talked like a twelve-year-old, but inside; there was nothing, nothing at all. Or, if there was, it was buried deep and hidden away from the world.

By now they had reached the car, Anton opened the trunk for her and she nodded her thanks as she shoved her bags in; but she kept her backpack. Anton didn't question it. They both got in and he signaled to the valet to head home. She didn't seem surprised that he had a driver, so either she had been told of him, or she knew of him previously.

_Great, _he thought, _now we have a half an hour drive and I have no idea what to say. Wait, didn't Trent have a message for her?_ Anton cleared his throat and she turned from her position looking out the window. She looked like she had been waiting for him to speak, and actually kind of bored.

"My son, Trent, asked me to apologize for him. He said to say that he was sorry he couldn't be here today; he really wanted to, but he couldn't leave his manager hanging on the busiest night of the week. He'll be at the house soon after we get there, and he'll be looking forward to meeting you. He's actually the one of us that's better at talking, it's not my forte, so I guess I also have to apologize; I probably won't be very good company."

A strange look crossed her face. He couldn't be sure; but it looked akin to confusion, that clearly wasn't what she had been expecting. Anton was slightly relieved; anything was better than that emptiness.

"S'okay." she replied quietly, still sounding a little surprised. Then, she bent down and took a notebook out of her bag, and began writing in it. He couldn't see what it was, and it peeked his curiosity a little bit, but he let it lie; he wasn't sure how far he could push her. Again, she looked surprised. The next few minutes were spent in silence; it was a strangely comfortable silence, though. The only sounds to disturb them were the noise of the freeway outside the car, Faith's pencil as it flew across the paper, and she also occasionally changed the song on her 

iPod shuffle. After about fifteen minutes Anton's Blackberry vibrated and he did some work on that; but things were still oddly okay, neither person minded the silence, almost preferring it.

The first sure emotion he ever saw on her face came when she first saw the house. "This is your house!" she exclaimed, yes, exclaimed, she didn't even whisper it! Anton smiled and nodded then grabbed her stuff from the back; it was surprisingly heavy, especially after seeing how easily Faith had carried it. Her initial shock wore off, the hollow feeling came back, and she grabbed her bags from him.

"Thanks but I can get It." she said, he was surprised; was it really that obvious he was struggling?

"You sure? That stuffs heavier than it looks." she smiled, just a tiny but and shook her head; no. Anton smiled a bit in return and her emptiness returned. Then, he led her into the house and showed her where the bedrooms were.

"The one at the far end is mine, and the one in the middle is Trent's. You can pick any of the others, feel free to do anything you want to it; it's yours as long as you're here." he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do at this point, so he decided to duck out, "I guess I'll leave you to it then. If you need me, I'll be in my office working. It's down the last hall we went through, just take a left from there and it's the first door on the right. Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything." with that he left, still unsure, but she didn't seem to care. Just went ahead to look at her five choices of bedrooms. She still seemed to be in a little bit of shock.

Oh well, _anything _was better than that hollow shell. Now if only it wouldn't come back, like he knew it would.

End chapter! What did you think, still any good? Please review! 


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